


Play It Again

by LaurieWhitlock29



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Country Music, F/M, Slow Burn, betty and jughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-11-28 18:45:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11423901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurieWhitlock29/pseuds/LaurieWhitlock29
Summary: Jughead Jones has just started college in a new city. He knows no one at first but before long, he meets a small group of people who quickly become his family and one in particular will become his whole world. AU OOC





	1. Meeting for the first time.

**Author's Note:**

> This is edited by me, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Also I own nothing, all characters belong to Riverdale and it’s creators. The idea for this story came from my love of Riverdale, Bughead and Luke Bryan; who owns the song lyrics.

Jughead stood on the curb looking in at the place where he would be spending the next four years of his life. People hurried past him going from one building to another, some didn’t even notice him standing there and some did notice him but he was to focused on the building to realise that some girls were checking him out; even if he did notice, he wouldn’t have believe that they were checking him out. Jughead always felt like he wasn’t as handsome as his best friend Archie Andrews; him and Arch have been best friends since they were in kindergarten. A lot of people believed that Jughead wouldn’t have made it to college after the way that he was raised, his mother bailed on him taking his sister Jellybean with her when she was only twelve years old and his dad wasn’t a great father figure; he was the head of the Southside Serpents and was in and out of jail. If it wasn’t for Mr. Andrews taking care of Jughead, he was sure that he would have ended up in foster care. 

After someone had bumped into Jughead was when he shook his head and came out of the trace he was in while starting at the college. Jughead shifted his messenger's bag higher up his shoulder and began walking towards the building that would hold his first class, before opening the door, Jug took a deep breath, pulled open the door and released it when he saw the inside of the college. 

Two weeks had gone by since Jug started college and he was loving all of his classes but he didn’t bother to socialise with others; Jug preferred to be on his own at times, he went to class, took his notes, went back to his dorm room that he thankfully didn’t share with anyone, did his assignments, eat and slept. To anyone else that routine would have drove them crazy but Jug liked it, he didn’t have to worry about pleasing anyone, thinking of things to talk about when in a group setting or explain why he chose to come all the way to rainy and cold in the winter Vancouver from sunny Texas. 

It was a early Saturday evening and Jug was sitting in his room working on his latest assignment that his history professor assigned. Jug was lost in his music and the assignment when his cell rang, he looked at the caller id and hit accept when he saw that it was Arch. 

“Hey Arch,” Jug greeted. 

“How’s my favourite soon to be writer doing?” Arch greeted in return. 

“I’m alright. How are you?” 

“I’m doing pretty good. The Pussycats and I have a gig tonight. Wish you were here to hear us play.” 

“Sorry man, maybe next time.” 

“Yeah. So, what are you doing tonight?” 

“Same old, same old.” 

“Jug, come on. You need to get out more. I know that you are not a people person but you are in a new country, new city and no one knows who you are.” 

“I’m just not interested. Besides, who would want to talk to me? They probably just think that I’m some Goth weirdo.” 

“Well, you are a Goth weirdo but that’s why I love you.” Arch said with a laugh. 

“Shut up, you stupid jock.” Jug laughed back. 

“Ouch that hurt.” 

“Well, it is true.” 

“I’m not stupid, thank you very much. Besides if I was stupid do you think that I would be here at Texas A&M?” 

“You got in on a scholarship.” 

“A partial football scholarship. The rest was because of my GPA.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, when’s your gig?” 

“Couple of hours.” 

“That’s cool, is Mr. Andrews going to be there?”

“Yeah, he will be. He’s really warmed up to me performing now that I’m attending college as well.” 

“That’s good.” 

“Yeah, now about you. I want you to go out tonight and have some fun.” 

“Arch, come on.” 

“No, I mean it, go and find a party to crash.” 

“I don’t even know if there is a party tonight.” 

“Jug, come on. It’s college, there is always parties going on.” 

“Yeah, I’ll see if I can find something.” 

“You better.” 

Jug agreed and Arch and he talked about how college life was going. After awhile Arch ended the call saying that he had to get to practice. Jug went back to working on his assignment but he wasn’t as focused as before. He knew that Arch was right, that he should go out and have some fun; he wouldn’t be young forever. So after trying again to work on the assignment with no luck, he got up with a growl and left his room heading to the common room. 

He looked at the bulletin board and saw that there were more than one party happening tonight. Jug snorted and just picked one to attend. He put the location in his phone and went back to his room. He looked at what he was wearing and decided to keep his black hoodie on but pair it with a pair of jeans and his cowboy boots. He threw on his old beanie and declared himself ready to go. 

After locking his dorm room, he headed out to the student parking lot, hopped in his black pickup truck and pulled up the directions to the party. It didn’t take long to get there, he was pleased to see that the area where the party was, was in a wooded clearing. Jug pulled to a stop and saw that the party was in full swing, he got out and skirted the edges of the party, observing everyone that was there. 

Jug grabbed a beer and found a tree stump to sit on. He was enjoying his people watching when he noticed her for the first time. She was with another girl and a guy dancing on the makeshift dance floor, her blond hair blowing in the slight breeze and looking like it had a life of it’s own as she dance. He couldn’t see her face but he liked what he saw from behind. He tried to watch other people but his eyes kept drifting back to the blond. 

He watched her for two hours before he finally get up the courage to talk to her. Again he took to skirting the edges of the party; after grabbing two beers, to get to her. When he reached her, Jug noticed that she was sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. He walked around the truck and when he got to the other side, he cleared his throat and when she looked at him, he was in awe of her beauty. He knew that she was beautiful from his two hours of staring at her but up close, he could really see the beauty and the little imperfections on her face. 

“Hi!” she said. 

“Hi. Mind if I sit with you?” 

“No, not at all.” 

Jug took a seat next to her and offered her a beer, she took it and thanked him. They were silent for awhile but eventually Jug said, “my name is Jughead.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Betty.” 

“Nice to meet you as well.” 

“So, are you enjoying yourself?” 

“Not really, I’m not one for partying,” Jug said. 

“Really? I’m not either.” 

“That’s surprising, it seemed like you were having a good time out there.” 

“Well, I like dancing but not partying. My best friend Veronica dragged me out tonight.” 

“I’m glad that she did, otherwise we wouldn’t have met.” 

“That’s true. So, who are you here with?” 

Jug was just about to answer when Betty let out a squeal, Jug looked around trying to see what made her make that sound and she just grabbed his hand while shouting, “oh my god, this is my song. Come and dance with me.” 

Jug wasn’t able to say no as she was practically dragging him alone. As soon as they hit the dance floor, Betty turned into a whole different person. She was grinding on Jug and dancing very seductively. Jug went along with it but he was also paying attention to the lyrics of the song. They seemed to reflect his current situation and he smirked at the fact. Once the song was over, Betty kissed him like they had known each other longer than one song and whispered against his lips, “play it again, play it again.” 

Jug wanted to grant her wish but he couldn’t because he had a feeling that the DJ would only play the song again if he paid him and Jug didn’t bring any money with him. Betty didn’t seem to mind that the song wasn’t playing again, she continued to dance with Jug no matter what the song was and Jug was really starting to enjoy himself. They took the occasional break and that’s when they got to know each other a little bit. Betty told Jug that she was a journalism major, that she lived with her friends Veronica and Kevin and that they had been friends since childhood. 

Around 1 am, Betty had gotten a little too drunk and Jug offered to drive her home. She agreed and after going to find Veronica and Kevin to tell them she was leaving, she took Jug’s hand and he lead her to his truck; he had stopped drinking along time ago so he was okay to drive. He asked her where she lived and was surprised that it wasn’t too far from where his dorm was located. As they drove, Jug kept scanning the radio to see if he could find the song again. He had just pulled into Betty’s driveway when he found the song, her eyes lit up and she started singing along and Jug could do nothing else but smile at her. 

When the song was over, Betty took Jug’s hand in hers again, gave it a squeeze and said, “thanks so much for making tonight better Jughead.” 

“You are very welcome Betty.” Jug replied while squeezing her hand back. 

They exchanged numbers and after Jug helped her out of the truck and walked her to the door, she gave him another kiss and went inside. Jug stood on the doorstep for a few minutes after Betty had closed and locked the door and then headed back to his truck and drove home, surprised at how the night had turned out.


	2. Hello Again

When Betty woke up late Sunday morning, she had a massive headache and no clue as to what happened more of the night before. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed and went into the bathroom so that she could take a hot shower. Once she was done, she dressed in sweatpants and a tank top and went into the kitchen, she was thankful when she saw that either Veronica or Kevin had made coffee. She poured herself a steaming cup and drank half of it in one go. She refilled her coffee cup and then went to see if any of her roommates were around. She wondered to the living room and sure enough her friends were sitting there. Veronica was flipping through a fashion magazine and Kevin was typing away on his laptop. 

“Good morning sunshine,” Veronica said in a sing-song voice when she spotted Betty. 

“Mornin’ Ronnie, Kevin.” Betty whispered. 

“Awe, does witty Betty have a hangover,” Kevin asked loudly. 

“Yes! Anyone know what happened last night?” Betty asked while taking a seat on the couch. 

“You don’t remember?” Kevin asked shocked. 

“No, was it bad?” 

“Not from where I’m sitting,” Ronnie said. 

“Okay, what happened?” Betty ask clutching her cup. 

“Well, at first you were just dancing with us but then when you went to sit on the bed of a pickup, you started chatting with this guy who could pass as a Goth. When ‘Play It Again’ by Luke Bryan came on, you dragged him on to the dance floor with you and were grinding on him.” Ronnie answered. 

“Is that all? It doesn’t seem to bad. I’ve seen you dirty dance with guys before Ronnie.” 

“True, which is why I said it wasn’t bad from my point of view.” 

“So, that’s all?” Betty asked feeling relieved.

“Well, after the song ended, you kissed him, passionately and then spent the rest of the night with him. He eventually brought you home but I couldn’t tell you what happened once you left the party.” Kevin supplied. 

Betty just sat there, sure she’s kissed guys before but not when she was drunk to the point of not remembering and not a guy she didn’t know. As she sat there, she tried to remember anything from the night before but nothing was coming to her. After awhile, she stomach started to growl and Kevin got up and made them all brunch. While brunch was being made, Betty went back to her room and grabbed her phone, she say that she had a text, so she unlocked her phone and read it, 

Betty, I hope that you are not too hungover this morning. Thanks for the dance last night. Hope to see more of you, Jughead. 

Well, at least now Betty knew what the mystery man’s name was. She also wondered what kind of name Jughead was. She sat on her bed wondering if she should text him back, Kevin called her name and let her know that the food was ready, so Betty typed a quick reply saying, 

Sadly I am pretty hungover but my roommates are taking care of me. You are welcome for the dance, thank you for taking me home. I’m sure we’ll run into each other on campus, Betty.  
She hit send and then made her way out to her friends, clutching her phone. She wasn’t sure if she did in fact want to see Jughead again but she also didn’t want to be rude to the guy. 

Another two weeks had gone by and Betty hadn’t seen nor heard from the mysterious Jughead. She had told Ronnie the text that they shared the morning after the party and Ronnie said that she didn’t know of anyone named Jughead and it seemed that no one knew of anyone named Jughead. The mystery was getting to Betty, a large part of her wanted to see him again and figure out why no one knew who he was; maybe Kevin had said, it was because Jughead wasn’t his real name, which Betty felt sure wasn’t the case. 

It was again a Saturday night but tonight Betty didn’t feel like going out to party, she just wanted to relax after a hectic week of classes. Ronnie tried to reason with her that she could relax at a party but Betty held strong and after saying goodbye to Ronnie and then Kevin; who was going on a date with a guy he met in one of his classes named Joaquin, Betty grabbed the next book in the series she was reading, turned on some music and sank into the couch fully prepared to do nothing for the rest of the night. 

Around 8 Betty was starting to feel hungry and a little stiff for sitting so long, so she decided to get dressed and head out to find some food. Betty wondered into town, she wasn’t sure what the town had to offer food wise as she either ate when Kevin, Ronnie or herself cooked or she ate in the dining hall, so she was unsure what she fancied. As she walked, she noticed that there was a pizza place, a restaurant selling Chinese food, a chicken joint and some fusion restaurants. She didn’t feel like any of that but when she saw that the town also had a diner, she squealed internally and went there. She knew that she was bound to find good food in there and she suddenly had a craving for a thick chocolate milkshake. 

Upon entering the diner, she saw that it was busier than she had expected but thankfully there was an empty booth near the back, so she walked over and took a seat flipping through the menu. The waitress came over not long after to take Betty’s order; double cheeseburger and then milkshake, once the order was placed, Betty decided that she was going to check out the other clientele of the diner. The people ranged in age and gender, it seemed like this was a popular place to come to. 

She was staring at an older couple fondly when the door of the diner opened and in walked a guy with raven black hair, a grey beanie, jeans and black hoodie. Betty felt like she knew him but couldn’t figure out where from. When he turned his head, she was able to see his beautiful brown eyes and she knew instantly that it was Jughead. He smirked at her and began walking towards her table. 

“Hey Betty, long time no see.” 

“Hi Jughead, how are you?” 

“Oh, so you do remember me,” he said with another smirk. 

“Of course, how could I forget the guy I danced with. Though for awhile there, I did think you were a figment of my imagination when I never saw you around campus.” Betty replied not wanting to admit that she did in fact forget about him and his name till that moment when they made eye contact. 

“Yeah, that’s because I’m not a people person.” Jughead replied while taking a seat across from her without even asking.

“So, what brought you to that party?” Betty was really curious.

“Archie; my friend, kept insisting that I go out more to socialise with people and I finally decided to listen to his words.” 

“I’m glad that you did.” 

“Yeah, me too.” 

The waitress came back then with Betty’s food and her milkshake and asked Jughead what he wanted, he replied that he would have what Betty was having. With a nod the waitress was gone again to place his order. 

“So, tell me about yourself Jughead,” Betty requested. 

“What do you want to know?” Jughead asked. 

“Start with the typical stuff I guess.” 

“Well, I was born in October, I’m originally from Texas. I have a younger sister named Jellybean who lives with my mom, my dad’s a flake and I’m out here on my own for the first time.” 

“What are you studying?” 

“English Lit and Creative Writing.” 

“So, you like writing then?” 

“Yeah, it’s always been an escape for me.” 

“Same here,” 

“Are you taking creative writing also Betty?” 

“No, journalism and teaching.” 

“Interesting. Tell me more about yourself,” Jughead asked. 

“I have an older sister named Polly, my mom and dad are journalist. I was born in February, I was born and raised in Riverdale; not far from here, and I’ve known Veronica and Kevin for most of my life.” 

“Why did you want to study journalism and teaching?” 

“Because I love both; writing and helping children to learn.” 

“”So, what would you prefer career path be if you had to chose?” 

“Um, being a journalism.” 

“So you want to be like your parents?” 

“Well, no. Not like them. I want to be better than them, my mom is petty and thinks only of herself... no wait, that’s not true. She focuses her attention on me to be this perfect girl, to marry the perfect man, to have the perfect live, perfect house and perfect kids.” 

“That’s a lot of pressure for someone.” 

“Yeah, tell me about it. It wasn’t always like that but when Polly got pregnant and moved out, mom zero in on me and it’s been driving me crazy.” 

“I’m sorry Betty that she put you through so much.” 

“Thanks Jug.” 

Jug nodded and they both ate in silence but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Betty was surprise that she told someone that much information about her life; especially to someone she hardly knew, but she felt that Jug wouldn’t judge her. As they ate, Jughead toyed with the idea of telling Betty about his family but he felt like he just wasn’t ready yet. 

“So, what are you plans for the rest of the night Jug?”

“I don’t have any. What about you?” 

“Same. I was just at home reading and listening to music when I decided to come out for food.” 

“Well, do you want to hang out more?” Jug asked unsure; he normally would have just gone home but he enjoyed being with Betty. 

“I would loved to, what shall we do?” 

“Let’s just wander and see what we can find to do.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Betty replied with a smile. 

Jug returned her smile and after they paid for their food, they walked out of the diner and strolled down the street looking for something to do. As they walked, they told each other more about themselves; Jug making sure to keep far away from the topic of his parents, though Betty was sure there was something that he was hiding. 

As they turned a corner, Betty stopped she knew exactly where she wanted to go now. 

“Let's go here,” Betty said when Jug turned to look at her. 

“Here? You want to go here?” Jug asked surprised.

“Yep, I told you, I liked all kinds of music.” 

“Yeah but I didn't think that meant that you wanted to spend time in a country bar.” 

“Well, I've never been to one and I know that you are from Texas and probably missing home, so why not.” 

“Alright, let's go.” 

Betty let out a squeal and they walked towards the double doors, Jug held the door open for Betty and when they went inside, Betty was in love with the layout. There was a big dance floor, a long bar, an area with a mechanical bull and there was also another section where you could go to learn to line dance. 

“I love this place!” Betty exclaimed 

“I can see that,” Jug said with a chuckle. “What do you want to do first? Get a drink or dance?” 

“Let's get a drink,” 

“Okay.” 

So they walked to the bar and ordered drinks. They wandered around trying to find a table to sit at. They found one and just as they sat down, “Shake It For Me” by Luke Bryan came on. An evil smirk crossed Betty’s face and Jughead knew he was in for another wild dance performance. Betty clasped Jug’s hand in hers and dragged him to the dance floor; but truth be told, he was willing to go happily if it meant that he could get to touch Betty again. Once again, their dancing got steamy and other couples had stopped to watched them. When the song was over, Betty once again kissed him; something that she enjoyed very much besides grinding on him that is.

They headed back to their table and drank their beers. 

“You’ve got some killer moves there Cooper, Jug said after a few minutes. 

“Thanks Jones, it helps when you are a former cheerleader.” Betty replied. 

“You used to be a cheerleader?” 

“Yep,” Betty answered while popping the p. “Veronica wanted to join and she wanted me with her, so after much harassment from her, I finally agreed. We worked on a routine and got accepted on the squad.” 

“How many years were you a cheerleader?” 

“All four years of high school.” 

“That’s cool,” 

“Yeah. So, what about you, any hidden talents?” 

“Um... I can play guitar,” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, my best friend Archie taught me. He’s a singer in a band called the Pussycats.” 

“That’s really cool. You’ll have to play for me some time.” 

“Absolutely.” Jug was already planning on what song to play for her. 

They spent some more time getting to know each other paired with more dancing. Around midnight they decided to head back to campus. Before parting, they promised to meet up more often to hang out as they had found out that they both loved the same movies and there were movies that the other hadn’t seen, so they agreed to make movie nights at least once a week.


End file.
